BANGALORE, Dec 18: Skipper Sourav Ganguly today slammed past records and history saying he was not bothered by the fact that India had lost their past two test matches here and he would persist with the four-man bowling attack in the third and final cricket test against England starting tomorrow.........more

Stakes high for both
teams in final test

BANGALORE, Dec 18: India will once again rely on the spin duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to do the trick as they take on a fired up England in the deciding third and final cricket test beginning here tomorrow.. ...........more

First day washed out
in NZ-Bangladesh test

HAMILTON (New Zealand), Dec 18: Rain washed out the opening day of the first test between New .......more

England, Wales Cricket
Board agree to play
sixth one-dayer

MUMBAI, Dec 18: The England and Wales Cricket Board have agreed to play a sixth one-day international......more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 18: Two time champion Sanjay Singh and last year’s runners-up......more

WCC wins JP Bazaz
memorial cricket tourney

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 17: White Cricket Club defeated Oriental Cricket Club by 27 runs in the final of the J P Bazaz Memorial Cricket.....more

GCW Gandhi Nagar, Parade
in women Kho-Kho finals

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 18: The two arch rivals of Government College for Women (GCW), Gandhi Nagar and Parade have once again set stage...more

Jammu Club’s Annual Sports Meet
Karan, Akhil, Kamal
win ties in Snooker

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 18: Karan Anand, Akhil Kohli and Kamal Rohmetra won their respective.....more

Ganguly not bothered by two losses at Bangalore

BANGALORE, Dec 18: Skipper Sourav Ganguly today slammed past records and history saying he was not bothered by the fact that India had lost their past two test matches here and he would persist with the four-man bowling attack in the third and final cricket test against England starting tomorrow.

"Every game is a new game. You have lost in the past that does not mean that you are going to lose again... It is not as if we have not won here before," a confident Ganguly said at a pre-match press conference here.

"Tomorrow is a new day and it depends how we play during the next five days... That is going to decide the fate of the game," the skipper said.

Ganguly said he would like to continue with the four-bowler attack as a "fifth bowler is a bit of big luxury". "You have two of the best spinners in the world in Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. Sachin (Tendulkar) also picks up wickets as a utility bowler on a turning pitch and he is as good as anybody.

"Sometimes I feel five bowlers is a bit of big luxury because I feel the fifth bowler is getting under-bowled a bit’’, he said.

However, he said the "selectors’ opinion matters in this case" and a decision will be taken in consultation with them. "The pitch has got a bit of green patch and it will be a difficult decision to make right now".

Though both teams are expected to go all out for a win, Ganguly found it difficult to predict whether the match would be a result-oriented one.

"It depends on how both sides play. Mohali was flat wicket but the match was finished in four days. Is is very difficult for me to say whether this one will be result oriented," he said.

While India started the three-test series on a positive note, winning the first one at mohali by 10 wickets, the second at Ahmedabad ended in a tame draw and they were blamed for indulging in ultra-defensive tactics.

"Everybody has their own opinion which is fair enough. But at the same time you have got to see how you are going to get that target’’, said Ganguly.

"If you have an attacking field then it is easy to get more that four runs per over. But you might lose a few wickets in the bargain. Again if they start bowling defensively, a negative line at that, it is not always easy,’’ he maintained.

On whether he was looking to improve his own performance Ganguly said, "I have not set any personal goals. I look to play every test match at a time and try to score runs in that. I find it difficult to say I will score 200, 300 or 400 runs in a three-test series as that puts additional pressure on me. It is an easier job to play ball to ball and match to match".

"I have always been a positive player and that is how my game is. I will stick to that and I do not try to change much. I do not think I can change my game because that is how I have been brought up," he said.

The skipper was all praise for wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta and defended his poor keeping in the second test. "He had a bad game in Ahmedabad but he is a good keeper. He has shown a lot of ability with the bat and actually he has scored runs in every test match that he has played... It would be harsh to pass judgement on his performance."

Coach John Wright was optimistic and said the boys were well motivated towards the goal of winning the third test. "We have learnt from the mistakes we made at Ahmedabad," he said. (PTI)

Stakes high for both teams in final test

BANGALORE, Dec 18: India will once again rely on the spin duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to do the trick as they take on a fired up England in the deciding third and final cricket test beginning here tomorrow.

The stakes are very high for both the teams in this test. While India, one-up in the series, would be keen to keep their winning record at home intact, England, after a vastly improved performance in the drawn Ahmedabad test, suddenly realise that the Indians are not invincible after all. The Chinnaswamy Stadium here has produced a result in each of the last six tests and even though India have lost their last two tests here - to Australia by eight wickets in 1997-98 and then to South Africa by an innings and 71 runs last year -a win for England would be a very tall order. The pitch here is known to favour batsmen and the spinners and in both these departments, the odds are heaviliy tilted towards India. With wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta doing fairly well as an opener, the Indians effectively have a specialist batsman coming till number seven and Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath, who follow, are quite capable of contributing some useful runs. Again, Kumble and Harbhajan Singh remain a puzzle to the English batsmen despite the 407 they were able to score in the first innings at Ahmedabad.

The two spinners have shared 31 of the 40 wickets in the last two matches and would once again be the major factors in this match what with the Indians preferring to go in with two spinners and two seamers.

Kumble, who has bagged 18 of those 31 wickets, has an added incentive to motivate him. He is just one wicket away from becoming only the second Indian after the legendary Kapil Dev to claim 300 test wickets and what better place to reach the milestone than his home ground! the Karnataka leg-spinner has had back-to-back five wicket hauls in Mohali and Ahmedabad and he would definitely be eager to give a similar performance, if not improve on it, before his home crowd.

England skipper Nasser Hussain, after his team’s creditable performance in Ahmedabad, claimed that his players were slowly learning to play Kumble and Harbhajan but was quick to add that they might find the duo a bit more intimidating in Bangalore because the track was supposed to be a little more spinner-friendly.

The fact is the english batsmen have shown a lot of resilence after the 10-wicket drubbing in Mohali. Craig White got a century in Ahmedabad and Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher had a near-century knock each. Hussain himself has been quite consistent.

Having won a psychological victory in Ahmedabad, England are now entertaining hopes of actually beating India in this test to square the series. But if history is anything to go by, England have a very weak case. Never has a foreign team come back from a deficit to equalise a series in India.

England’s own record at this ground does not give them any comfort as of the two tests they have played here, they lost by 140 runs in 1978-79 and managed a draw in 1981-82.

However, the reason why England are so upbeat about their prospects is the under-performance of the Indian batsmen in Ahmedabad. The hosts were bowled out for 291 in their first innings to concede a huge 116-run lead to England. Then in the second innings, despite being in a healthy position at 119 without loss at one stage, the Indians did not make an attempt to chase the target of 374 for victory and played it safe to settle for a draw.

In fact, that performance would be something the Indians would be surely looking to improve upon. With such a formidable batting line-up and the tremendous advantage of playing at home, there is no reason why they should opt for such a defensive approach.

The responsibility starts from the captain himself and Sourav Ganguly, who is still struggling to get a big score behind his name for some time now, would be most keen to perform well here.

Same is true for his deputy Rahul Dravid who, despite the 86 that he made in the first innings in Mohali, hasn’t looked all that comfortable against the English attack. Like Kumble -and Srinath - Dravid too would be playing before his home crowd and that might just be the extra motivation that he is in the need of.

As expected, India’s batting fortunes have revolved around Sachin Tendulkar, the batting maestro having already accumulated 217 runs from the two matches including a century. He is averaging 72 in this series, the highest for the Indian team with Dasgupta coming a distant second at 59.

It is now upto the Gangulys, Dravids and Laxmans to complement them and do their bit towards ensuring a victory for India.

Ironically, for a team reputed to play spin very well, the Indian batsmen have been falling prey to Richard Dawson and Ashle Giles, the two spinners in the english ranks who are nowhere near the top as far as quality spin bowling is concerned.

Dawson claimed four wickets in the first innings at Mohali and two in the second innings at Ahmedabad while Giles registered his best figures - five for 67 - in the first innings of the second test. The two would obviously be in the thick of things here and it remains to be seen how Indians fare against them this time.

The pitch here looks to be good for batting and promises a lot of runs. The spinners are expected to gain some turn as the game progresses though the lateral movement due to the heavy dew during the first hour of play everyday would keep the fast bowlers also in the hunt. (PTI)

First day washed out in NZ-Bangladesh test

HAMILTON (New Zealand), Dec 18: Rain washed out the opening day of the first test between New Zealand and Bangladesh today without a ball being bowled.

The rain, which started falling at around 0300 local time, eventually stopped at 1430 but the wet outfield forced umpires Tony Hill of New Zealand and David Orchard of South Africa to call off the day’s play.

Play is due to start at 1130 hrs tomorrow.(AGENCIES)

England, Wales Cricket Board agree to play
sixth one-dayer

MUMBAI, Dec 18: The England and Wales Cricket Board have agreed to play a sixth one-day international during their tour of India from January 22 to February 3, 2002 one-day series, Indian Board (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah said here today.

Shah told PTI that BCCI would like to play the match on January 19 before the Kolkata one-dayer either at Cuttuck, Baroda or Rajkot. However, the exact date and venue would be known shortly as the ECB wanted to play the sixth tie on February 5 after the Mumbai match on February 3, 2002.

Shah said ECB had written to him saying they were ready to play a sixth one-dayer. BCCI was also trying to get a five-match test series during England’s tour of India in 2006.

"In principle, we have agreed but I can give a clear picture only after the on-going test series is through," Shah added.

The England team is scheduled to play a five-match one-day series after Christmas at Kolkata (day-night) on January 22, Chennai (day-night) on January 25, Kanpur (day match) on January 28, Delhi (day match) on January 31 and Mumbai (day-night) on February 3. (PTI)

IV Mobike Dirt Track Race
Defending champion out of the race as Sanjay,
Vishal enter 2nd round

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 18: Two time champion Sanjay Singh and last year’s runners-up Vishal Dhar have qualified their respective heats to enter the second round, while defending champion, Sandeep Mahajan is no more in the race in the 4th Mobike Dirt Track Race which began at Mini-Stadium Parade, here this afternoon.

Vishal Dhar, who topped in the second heat, emerged as the fastest man of the day completing the six kilometers zig zag track ten rounds in just 11.55 minutes. He was followed by two time champion, Sanjay Singh, who topped in the first heat completing the distance in 12.4 minutes.

Last year’s winner Sandeep Mahajan could not qualify for the second round when his mobike suddenly stopped on way to the third round due to mechanical fault.

Other two qualifiers in the first heat were Sham Sharma in 12.11 minutes and Jatinder Singh in 12.22 minutes. In the second heat, Pardeep finished second clocking in 12.05 minutes and Samarjeet Singh at number three making it in 12.28 minutes.

The remaining three heats will be held in the tomorrow morning, followed by the semi-finals on December 20.

Minister for Youth Services and Sports, Harbans Singh was the chief guest, who declared open the race. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that Government is making concerted efforts to popularize and promote adventure sports in the State.

Expressing his satisfaction over the performance of state contingent at recently concluded National Games in Punjab, he said that Jammu and Kashmir bettered its medal tally and there was enormous scope for further improvement.

Additional Director General of Police, Gopal Sharma presided over the inaugural function. Others present on the occasion were Secretary, State Sports Council, Sheikh Fazal Ahmed, general secretary, J&K Olympic Association, Dr Ashutosh Sharma.